VANISHING IN THE WILD

The current endangered species and extinction crisis is unique, in that the loss of biodiversity is occurring very rapidly, and the causes of the crisis are the activities of a single species: human beings. Some scientists believe the current crisis began when humans and their domestic animals first began to colonize the various parts of the globe.

Others believe it began around 1600, when human population growth exploded, and the level of per capita resource consumption began to rise dramatically in some parts of the world.